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The FBI would begin an investigation that would span eight years and remains open to this day. At the time, the ship's captain described it as a likely accident ... A balcony chair had been found with its back against the railing. For nine years, Maureen and George Smith have been tormented.
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Had they responded in time, perhaps Smith would be alive today. After finding himself intoxicated a few minutes later, Smith was said to have needed the three Russian-Americans’ help returning to his cabin, and so they escorted him back, accompanied by a fourth man. The story of what happens next has been changed several times. Is made up of attorneys who are nationally recognized industry leaders in the field of maritime and admiralty law. Our team of cruise lawyers has well over two centuries of combined experience, has successfully handled over 3,000 cases, and has recovered over 300 million dollars in damages for our clients. Several of our attorneys have even been selected to “Best Lawyers” ® by US News & World Report every year as far back as 2016.
Honeymoon From Hell: Husband Vanishes at Sea - ABC News
Honeymoon From Hell: Husband Vanishes at Sea.
Posted: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Nightly News Full Broadcast (April 20th)
The FBI would begin an investigation that would span 9 years and remains open to this day. At the time, the ship's captain described it as a likely accident -- theorizing that an intoxicated George sat on the railing and simply fell off. Smith's attorney has cited reports of Hagel Smith's drinking and that she argued with her husband the night he disappeared, kicked him in the groin and left the ship's bar.
Honeymoon From Hell: Husband Vanishes at Sea
FBI closes probe into vanished cruise ship honeymooner George Smith IV - CBS News
FBI closes probe into vanished cruise ship honeymooner George Smith IV.
Posted: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Bree remembers the day very well and how excited they were to go on their honeymoon. "I was overwhelmed with her because she had this dynamic personality," Maureen explained. "She was very fun-loving like him. Very attractive. ... And he was really happy with her." CBS News senior correspondent John Miller has worked in law enforcement and intelligence for 10 years and has been a reporter for 30 years. "48 Hours" asked Miller to take a new look at the unsolved case of George Smith, who went on his honeymoon cruise and was never seen again. "They were only there for three hours," said George Sr. "Three or four hours to do forensic work, they only took six statements from different people."
Honeymoon Cruise
Three of the Russian boys, including Kofman, were also in the casino. "I'd like to invoke my Fifth Amendment right," answered the other passenger, Zachary Rozenberg. In another deposition, his cousin, Gregory Rozenberg, who was serving 3 years in prison for selling drugs, denies murdering Smith. "Did you have anything to do with George's death?" asked an interrogator. The young men said that after putting George to bed, they had all left and then went back to one of their cabins and ordered a lot of room service. That night, the couple had dinner aboard the ship and toasted their future together according to Jennifer.
Lawyers for Zach Rozenberg and Rusty Kofman declined to comment on the video. Just a few days ago, "48 Hours" tried to see if Kofman himself could provide any more answers. Royal Caribbean had had enough and rounded up all of the young men and their families for a tense meeting with the ship's lawyer.
Captain Lachtaridis ordered a check of the four staterooms directly above the blood, plus the eight rooms on either side. Guests’ entry onto and exit from the ship is monitored via a card system called Seapass; it took only minutes to establish that many of the guests in those rooms had already gone ashore. It took less than an hour to determine that the Smiths were the only guests not accounted for. A pretty platinum blonde, Jennifer grew up in the nearby town of Cromwell, where her father, a former policeman, runs a construction business. Jennifer attended Trinity College, in Hartford, and was, when she met George, working toward a master's degree at Roger Williams University, in Bristol, Rhode Island. Before the Smiths realized it, Jennifer had moved into George’s apartment, and the couple seemed to be spending every available minute together.
Kofman and other three men were still aboard, living it up. By the time the ship reached Italy, they were implicated in yet another terrible situation, this one involving a young woman. The Smiths say the cruise line also failed to tell them about other evidence that they feel points to foul play, such as some blood that was also found in George's cabin. Somehow, George Smith had gone overboard and was lost at sea. Since he went missing, his distraught family -- parents George and Maureen, and sister, Bree -- have been highly critical of how the cruise line responded to George's disappearance.
ACCIDENT OR FOUL PLAY?
"Additionally, he had a really nice watch ... which was a Breitling watch, was worth a bit of money." "Hung out with them a little bit, nothing too in depth. ... Jennifer played a little blackjack. I played a little craps with George," Askin said. "There were a lot of other people around as well, who'd been on the cruise so far." George was soon joined at the table by another shipboard acquaintance -- California college student Josh Askin. "I can remember shaking his hand in the street and saying goodbye to him," said George's father.
The widow, Jennifer Hagel Smith, said her husband's family has refused to acknowledge the possibility that George Smith's intoxication from alcohol and prescription drugs may have been a factor in an accidental death. Instead, she said they have insisted Smith was a victim of foul play despite a lack of evidence. NEW HAVEN, Conn – The widow of a Connecticut man who disappeared during their honeymoon cruise said Friday that her husband had mixed prescription drugs with alcohol the night he vanished three years ago on the Mediterranean Sea.
Early on, the ship's captain described it as a likely accident. In the years following George's death, Jennifer has remarried and tried to move on. And until the day the case is solved, they vow to not let George's memory die on that ship.
And now, new evidence suggests there may be some truth to the allegations. A video tape created by the same men, and which has been in the hands of the FBI for some time, shows there may in fact have been a murder at sea all those years ago. "We are disappointed that she didn't fight for George how we fought for George," said Bree, George's sister. Bree and Maureen believe George was murdered in a robbery that got out of control. "I want to know who took my son away from me. He wasn't a Dixie cup that you throw over the side of a ship," said Maureen.
According to several people involved with the case, Kofman and the Rozenberg boys first attracted attention on Sunday night, July 3, five days into the cruise. The ship’s solarium, which contains a hot tub, was a favored after-hours “hookup” area, where young people flirted and occasionally slipped off to quiet liaisons. The solarium is a nonsmoking area, however, and at least one of the Rozenberg group lit up cigarettes. When admonished to stop by a ship’s officer, one or more of the men allegedly cursed at him and kept on smoking. DAVIE, Fla. – It has been more than 15 years since a Connecticut man named George Smith went overboard on a cruise ship.
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